Castle Rock – Castle Rock and Larkspur grew up along the train tracks, but some residents say it’s time for the locomotives to pipe down.

More than two dozen times a day, they hear the freight trains passing through – the screech and rumble of steel wheels on iron rails, the clanging bells and piercing horns.

“Violent, that’s the only word I can think of to describe it,” said Geoff Young, whose home and graphic-design business are near the tracks in Castle Rock.

Police Chief Tony Lane has fielded a spike in complaints. He lives a mile from the tracks and can attest to the “excessive” clamor at all hours of the night.

“It seems to continue all the way through town,” he said.

Those who report that it’s gotten worse are right: A federal law passed last year doubled the allowable noise level and required engineers to blow their horns at every public crossing, rather than use their discretion when streets are empty in the dead of night.

If noise complaints continue, Lane and Larkspur Mayor Sherilyn West say their towns may turn to “quiet zones,” silencing the whistles that have rung out over Douglas County since 1875.

The new federal law allows communities to ban whistles, as long as they compensate for the increased risk by taking measures to ensure no cars or pedestrians can wander onto the tracks.

Since the law passed, 22 communities nationwide have established whistle-free zones for trains.

The price tag can be as little as $50,000 a crossing for medians that keep cars from going around gates, or as much as $500,000 for sophisticated double gates, engineering consultants said. Each crossing has to have an engineering study to determine what’s needed to meet the federal rule.

FasTracks planners already are exploring the noise-dampening option for intersections on the west corridor light-rail line between Denver and Golden and the northwest commuter- rail line from Denver to Boulder/Longmont.

Union Pacific spokesman James Barnes said Castle Rock and Larkspur should direct their complaints to the federal government, not the railroads.

“These are the rules we’re governed by; these are safety rules,” he said of the horn-blowing. “Relief is available through quiet zones, and that choice is available for the communities that wish to pursue it.”

He added: “We realize that the sound of a train horn can be inconvenient. That’s one of the reasons they’re effective.”

The intent of the law was to set federal standards so communities could not broker their own deals with the railroads and cut corners on safety, said Terry Byrne, an engineering consultant in Boston who helps towns with quiet zones.

Florida banned train whistles statewide in 1994 but rescinded the law five years later, after nighttime collisions tripled.

Nationwide, there are nearly 250,000 rail crossings, according to the Federal Railroad Association. Last year, trains were involved in 13,924 accidents, with 888 fatalities.

Douglas County has a good track record. In 10 years, autos and trains have collided six times, with no fatalities, according to the railroad agency.

In 2002, however, 16-year-old Missy Martin was hit by a train in Castle Rock. The accident left her brain-damaged.

Her father, David Martin, doesn’t think horns, short or long, are enough.

“The problem is that the trains come through town too fast,” he said. “If they would just slow down, they wouldn’t have to sit on their horns.”

Trains pass through Castle Rock at up to 45 mph, according to the Federal Railroad Administration, while automobiles are limited to 25 mph downtown.

For now, Larkspur’s West has learned to sleep through the nightly noise, but not her husband. When train noise was especially high last summer, “my husband was constantly complaining about it,” she said.

Castle Rock’s police chief weighs quiet, safety and history. The Douglas County seat, after all, flourished because of the rail line.

“The last thing we want to do is create a safety issue,” Lane said. “But we have to create a balance. People also have to realize this is a railroad town.”

Joey Bunch was a reporter for 12 years at The Denver Post before leaving to join The Gazette in Colorado Springs. For various newspapers he has covered the environment, water issues, politics, civil rights, sports and the casino industry. He likes stories more than reports.

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